Winston Churchill's wife Clementine played central role in winning the war | Daily Mail Online comments They say behind every strong man is a woman just as formidable. And it appears Sir Winston Churchill was no exception to the rule, as a new exhibition has revealed how the world's leaders came to admire his wife Clementine and shower her with tokens of affection. An exhibition of gifts given to the Churchill family are on display at their former home in Chartwell, Kent, including one sent from Charles de Gaulle to the former prime minister's wife near the end of the Second World War. Sir Winston Churchill pictured with his beloved wife Clementine who earned the respect of world leaders in her 'tireless' support of her husband Among others are trinkets thanking her for her role in coordinating aid to Russia, a cut-glass fruit bowl from Stalin, and a collection of silverware from the town of Sheffield. A spokesman for the National Trust said the display of 30 pieces reflects the strong influence had by Clementine Churchill over state and international business. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share 'She helped maintain difficult relationships and worked quietly behind the scenes for the war effort,' said Judith Evans, house and collections manager at the property.

'She made sure they dined with the right people and led by example in keeping domestic life going,' she told the Daily Telegraph. One such well-suited dinner guest was the former president of the French Republic, who sent a lalique crystal cockerel after an argument had over the Churchills' dinner table. Among the gifts displayed at the family's former home in Chartwell, Kent, is a cigar box sent by the King Peter II of Yugoslavia A cigar box with the former prime minister's portrait engraved on it was a gift from the 3rd Battalion 11th Sikh Regiment at Tehran 'When he went away, he felt very keenly that he had upset her and the cockerel is supposed to have been sent to appease her,' added Ms Evans. A Viking Long Boat glass bowl with silver mounts was sent by Stalin after the Moscow Conference in 1944, while a brass brandy glass warmer a gift from Portugal. A large series of maps was sent as a Christmas gift by President Roosevelt in 1945 and King Peter II of Yugoslavia gave the family a silyer cigar box made by Asprey of London in 1942.

Another cigar box with a portrait of Sir Winston on its front was sent as a 69th birthday gift from the 3rd Battalion 11th Sikh Regiment at Tehran. The family also received countless parcels of food, thank you cards and several animals from well-wishers all over the world. A brass brandy glass warmer in the shape of a donkey pulling a cart, a gift from Portugal, is among the gifts on display The couple knew how to keep good company, and frequently invited the 'right' people to dinner at their home A lion, white kangaroo and black swans were recorded as being received as gifts, but were not kept at the house. The exhibition called Gift of Power was opened by the couple's great-grandson Randolph Churchill and will be open to the public until February 23. CLEMENTINE, THE RIGHT HONOURABLE BARONESS SPENCER-CHURCHILL The daughter of Sir Henry and Lady Blanche Hozier, Clementine spent her childhood in London's Mayfair before being relocated with her family to Dieppe, France. She was re-acquainted with Winston Churchill at a dinner party in 1908, after having met him four years earlier.

After months of correspondence, Churchill wrote to her mother requesting her hand in marriage. On 12 September 1908, at St. Margaret's, Westminster, the pair married. Sir Winston was already a seasoned Parliamentarian before the couple had their five children. During the war the well-educated Clementine organised canteens for munitions workers on behalf of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in the North East Metropolitan Area of London. During World War II she was Chairman of the Red Cross Aid to Russia Fund, the President of the Young Women's Christian Association War Time Appeal and the Chairman of Fulmer Chase Maternity Hospital for Wives of Junior Officers. The Clementine Churchill Hospital in Harrow, Middlesex is named after her. In 1946 she was appointed a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, becoming Dame Clementine Churchill GBE. Later, she was awarded honorary degrees by the University of Glasgow and the University of Oxford and later, in 1976, by the University of Bristol. In May 1965, she was created a life peer as Baroness Spencer-Churchill, of Chartwell in the County of Kent.

She sat as a cross-bencher, but her growing deafness precluded her taking a regular part in parliamentary life. Lady Spencer-Churchill died in Princes Gate, Knightsbridge, London of a heart attack on 12 December 1977. She was 92 years old and had outlived her husband by almost 13 years. Churchill's wife offered to give up baby to close friend - Telegraph Churchill's wife offered to give up baby to close friend By Chris Hastings 12:00AM GMT 25 Mar 2001 WINSTON CHURCHILL'S wife, Clementine, offered to give their fourth child to family friends who had been unable to conceive. The Telegraph has learnt that diaries containing the information have been discovered in military archives after remaining hidden for more than 80 years. The private papers reveal that Clementine Churchill was four months pregnant when she discussed giving her baby to Jean, Lady Hamilton, a close friend who had been desperate for a child of her own. Mrs Churchill was 33 and already a mother of three when she made the offer towards the end of the First World War.

The strong friendship between the families had begun in the 1890s when Winston Churchill and Lady Hamilton's husband, Gen Sir Ian Hamilton, fought together on the North West Frontier. For more than 80 years the episode has remained a secret, even to the two families concerned. It is now public, thanks to the chance discovery of Lady Hamilton's diaries. In the critical entry, dated June 18, 1918, Lady Hamilton outlined the conversation, which took place at her London home near Hyde Park. The diary entry said: "Clemmie asked if I'd like to have her baby; of course I said I would, and asked her when she expected it. She said 'in November' and I offered to have her here for it, as she had been telling me how expensive a nursing home would be - £25 a week for room alone and she said she could not possibly afford it. She said if she had twins I would have one." Related Articles Luxurious way of life left couple in financial straits 25 Mar 2001 The diary entry will shed new light on the enduring and deep friendship of two of Edwardian England's most powerful couples.

Winston Churchill and General Hamilton played leading roles in the disastrous Gallipoli campaign in the First World War. The two families grew even closer as they weathered the storm generated by the official inquiry into the 1915 defeat. Churchill first met Ian Hamilton when they were both fighting on the North West Frontier in 1897. Hamilton was then the senior officer and Churchill a young calvary officer. Their friendship endured from then on. Celia Lee, the wife of John Lee, Gen Hamilton's biographer, discovered the papers and has included them in a new biography of Lady Hamilton. She said: "I think some people will think it was a bizarre thing for Clemmie Churchill to do. You have to understand that these couples were both extremely close." Mrs Lee said: "Clemmie herself loved children and would have understood the pain Jean was experiencing. Jean was an outstanding beauty and an extremely intelligent woman. The one thing she longed for to make her life complete was a child." The two women discussed their proposal in private and there is nothing to suggest that Winston Churchill was even aware of the idea. Lady Hamilton, who was 57 at the time, had tried in vain for years to start a family.

The timing of the conversation will, however, be regarded as significant by historians. The Churchills were in severe financial difficulty in 1918 and were battling to save their London home. They may have feared that another child would be one burden too many. Lady Soames, who is Churchill's only surviving child, is to include Clemmie's offer of the baby in a revised edition of Clementine Churchill, a biography of her mother first published in 1979. She said: "I think we will never know the real story behind the conversation. It is certain, however, that my mother would have been very upset about Lady Hamilton's inability to have children." Lady Soames said: "We also know that my mother was exhausted during this period of her life. In common with many people, she had undertaken a great deal of war work. My mother may have felt at the time that another child was too much of a burden to cope with. My parents were very badly off at this time. She was a born worrier." Clementine gave birth to Marigold in 1918, who was not adopted.

She fell ill in August 1921 and died of septicaemia at just three and half years of age. The Hamiltons subsequently adopted two abandoned babies. Winston Churchill to his wife, Clementine Winston Churchill to his wife, Clementine The Lovers winston Spencer Churchill (1874-1965) was born at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, son of Lord Randolph Churchill and Jennie Jerome. Educated at Harrow, he served in the army in India and Sudan, then went to South Africa as a war correspondent to cover the Boer War. In 1904 he joined the Liberal Party (returning to the Conservatives 20 years later); and in 1908 married Clementine Hozier. Churchill held many high offices of state, including home secretary (1910), first lord of the Admiralty (1911 and 1939), and chancellor of the exchequer (1924-29). He spent the 1930's in political obscurity, but became prime minister of a coalition government during World War II, rising to greatness and becoming a symbol of the indomitable will to triumph over Nazi Germany.

Defeated in the General Election of 1945, he was again elected prime minister in 1951. He wrote extensively, and in 1953 won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He died in 1965, at age 90. Clementine Hozier (1885-1977) was born into an upper-class family, but experienced much unhappiness as a young girl when her parents separated. Despite a lack of money, she made a strong impression in social circles with her beauty, intelligence, and charm. In 1908, she married Winston Churchill. She kept their home, bore him five children and proved a loyal support and wise counsel during his very long political career. By nature Clementine was shy and passionate, though she maintained a seemingly cool public persona. In the years of World War II, she undertook the important work of chairing the Red Cross Aid to Russia Appeal, helping to run the Fulmer Chase Maternity Home, and raising funds for the Y.M.C.A. In 1965, she took the title of Baroness Spencer-Churchill of Chartwell.

Ill health dogged her old age, but she retained her elegance, independence of mind, and love of family and friends until her death in 1977, at age 92. January 23, 1935 My darling Clemmie, In your letter from Madras you wrote some word vy dear to me, about my having enriched yr life. I cannot tell you what pleasure this gave me, because I always feel so overwhelmingly in yr debt, if there can be accounts in love. It was sweet of you to write this to me, and I hope and pray I shall be able to make you happy and secure during my remaining years, and cherish you my darling one as you deserve, and leave you in comfort when my race is run. What it has been to me to live all these years in yr heart and companionship no phrases can convey. Time passes swiftly, but it is not joyous to see how great and growing is the treasure we have gathered together, amid the storms and stresses of so many eventful and to millions tragic and terrible years?...

Your loving husband, Winston Churchill - Biography - IMDb Winston Churchill Biography Showing all 160 items Jump to: Overview (5) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (4) | Trivia (92) | Personal Quotes (57) Overview (5) 5' 8" (1.73 m) Mini Bio (1) Born in Blenheim Palace, the residence of his grandfather, the 7th Duke of Marlborough. His father was the Duke's third son, Lord Randolph Churchill. His mother, Jennie Jerome, was the daughter of an American financier. After passing through famous English public schools such as Harrow, he went on to fulfill his ambition for a life in the army. He fought in various parts of the British Empire until in 1900 when he won the Conservative seat in Oldham in the general election. From here until 1929 he held various offices in British Parliament. The 1930s saw Adolf Hitler rise to power and dominate much of Europe. When war was declared between Britain and Germany in 1939, Neville Chamberlain was British Prime Minister.

On May 10, 1940 Hitler's forces struck at Holland, Belgium, and France. Chamberlain was seen by many as a weak leader and they longed for a more forceful leader with whom Britain could feel safe. Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, was chosen to become Prime Minister (at the age of 65). It could be said that Churchill's fiery energy had never been experienced before in British politics and suddenly it seemed as though Britain could face the Naz giant. He made a speech on 13 May: "You ask: 'What is our policy?' I will say: 'It is to wage war by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us: to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark lamentable catalog of human crime.' That is our policy. You ask: 'What is our aim?' I can answer in one word: 'Victory! Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.'" The United States entered the war after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

The US's participation was excellent news to Churchill and after success on D-Day and as the Nazi forces were gradually forced back, the war in Europe gradually drew to a close. He was re-elected as Prime Minister in 1951 but because of deteriorating health he left the public scene. He died at Hyde Park Gate, London, on January 24, 1965 at the age of 90. He had succeeded in the uniting of thought and deed. He had succeeded in uniting everyone in the common purpose, inspiring them with fortitude and strength to face whatever hardships that would have to be incurred in the process of first surviving and ultimately winning the war.

His daughter Mary wrote to him on his death bed: "I owe you what every Englishman, woman, and child owes you -- liberty itself." - IMDb Mini Biography By: Matthew Stephenson <stephenn@pavilion.co.uk> Spouse (1) ( 12 September 1908 - 24 January 1965) (his death) (5 children) Trade Mark (4) Fiercely energetic public speeches with heavy emphasis on determination Dry sarcastic wit Trivia (92) The atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, "Fat Man", was christened by US Gen. Leslie Groves with Churchill in mind. The Hiroshima bomb, "Little Boy", was originally called "Thin Man", in honor of Franklin D. Roosevelt . He is buried in a modest churchyard in Bladon, not far from his birthplace at Blenheim Palace. Chartwell, his country house, is open to the public. Much of his painting was done there. The first American combat ship named after a foreigner, the guided-missile cruiser USS Winston S. Churchill, was launched on 17 April 1999.

In 1963, by Act of Congress, he was granted honorary US citizenship, the first recipient since Lafayette. He was too infirm to travel to Washington, DC, to receive the honor in person, which was collected by his son and grandson. He was created a Knight of the Most Noble Order of Garter on 24 April 1953. The award was not made in any of the usual Honours Lists. Both he and his Foreign Secretary Sir Anthony Eden had declined this honor in 1945, feeling it inappropriate following the landslide General Election defeat. Credited with this exchange with Bessie Braddock : "Winston, you are drunk, and what's more, you are disgustingly drunk"; "Bessie, my dear, you are ugly, and what's more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober, and you will still be disgustingly ugly". Nancy Astor once said to Churchill, "If I was your wife I'd poison your coffee!" He replied, "If I was your husband I'd drink it.". Married at St. Margaret's, Westminster, England. Clementine was a decade younger than him.

That Hamilton Woman (1941) is reported to have been his favorite movie. Awarded the 1953 Nobel Prize in literature, he was allegedly disappointed that it wasn't the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to prevent the Cold War between the East and West from deteriorating into nuclear conflict. Said to have refused to allow his successor to nominate him for a peerage after his final resignation as Prime Minister in 1955, ostensibly to allow his son to contest a seat in the House of Commons. Was a member of The Tuna Club in southern California, the oldest fishing club in the United States. Its members at one time also included Theodore Roosevelt , George S. Patton , Charles Chaplin , and Bing Crosby . Pictured on a 5¢ USA commemorative postage stamp issued in his honor, 13 May 1965. Pictured on a 5¢ Canadian commemorative postage stamp issued in his honour 12 August 1965. Early in his life, he briefly worked as a greeting card designer for Hallmark. Born prematurely in a bedroom during a party at Blenheim Palace.

Answering speculation that Winston was conceived before her marriage, Lady Randolph later said, "Although present on the occasion, I have no clear recollection of the events leading up to it.". Time Magazine's "Man of the Year" (1940 & 1949) Father of Diana Churchill ; Randolph Churchill ; Sarah Churchill ; Marigold Frances Churchill (15 November 1918 - 23 August 1921) and Lady Mary Soames ). First gained fame in England as a war correspondent during the Boer War in 1899-1900. While covering the conflict (as what amounted to an "embedded" journalist, long before the term was coined) he was captured by Boer guerrillas and taken as a prisoner of war. Along with a few other prisoners, Churchill hatched a bold scheme to escape. The success of this plan catapulted him to fame and helped him along on his political career. In 2004 he came in first place in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. This followed a telephone vote campaign by the Churchill Society.

His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, died on 24 January 1895, exactly 70 years to the day before Winston himself passed away. He was already 65 years of age when he became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1940. He suffered a mild heart attack in Washington in December 1941, a few days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and was very ill with bronchitis around Christmas 1943. In 1949, as Leader of the Opposition, he suffered his first stroke while vacating in France; in June 1953, three weeks after the Coronation, he had a severe stroke which would have ended his second premiership had not Foreign Secretary Sir Anthony Eden been hospitalized in America following three unsuccessful gall bladder operations. Following another stroke in April 1955, Churchill's health remained reasonably good until a fall from his bed at the Hotel Paris in 1962. Thereafter there was no subsequent recovery, although he remained a Member of Parliament until the 1964 General Election, finally standing down a month before his 90th birthday. Proposed marriage to Ethel Barrymore .

She refused him, but they remained friends. Early in his writing career, he was often mistaken for American novelist Winston Churchill . Churchill wrote to his counterpart, and told him he was thereafter going to sign all his published works 'Winston Spencer Churchill' to avoid confusion. The two actually met in Boston in 1899, and became fast friends. His mother, Jennie Jerome, was born in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn, NY. Her father, Leonard Jerome, was a financier and business partner of Cornelius Vanderbilt . Jennie and Lord Randolph Churchill, son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough, were introduced by the future King Edward VII (reportedly one of her lovers; she and his consort, Queen Alexandra , became good friends) in August 1873. Engaged three days after meeting, the wedding was delayed for months while the Duke and Jerome hammered out financial terms. Jennie and Lord Randolph were married on April 15, 1874, at the British Embassy in Paris. Five years after Randolph's death, Jennie married George Cornwallis-West, a captain in the Scots Guards, who was 26 days older than Winston.

As was the custom of the day, Jennie played a limited role in her sons' upbringing. Winston worshiped his mother, but she rarely visited him at school, despite his numerous letters begging her to. After he became an adult, they forged a strong friendship to the point where he regarded her as more of a big sister than his mother. Well-respected and influential in the highest circles, Jennie was instrumental in launching Winston's career. Contrary to popular belief, she did not have a tattoo of a snake around her left wrist. She has been played by Anne Bancroft , Hilde Krahl , Georgie Glen and Lee Remick . He was awarded the O.M. (Order of Merit) and C.H. (Companion of Honour), and created a Knight of the Garter (KG), but allegedly declined a dukedom. Greta Garbo attended his funeral, as an extremely rare 1965 photograph proves. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, allegedly died of syphilis. When Churchill was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1924, his robes of office were the same ones his father had used a generation earlier. Almost missed proposing to Clementine Ogilvy.

He had promised to take her for a walk around the Blenheim Palace grounds, then overslept. His cousin Charles took Clementine for a carriage ride to prevent her from leaving, and sent a servant to roust Churchill out of bed. His relationship with his wife was strained by the fact that she rose early every morning and he slept late. As a result they usually left notes and small letters to each other to maintain the intimacy. All members of the Churchill family had animal nicknames. Wife Clementine was "Cat", son Randolph was "Rabbit", daughter Mary was "Mouse", to name a few. May have had Alzheimer's disease in later life. Although the Churchill Museum maintains his reduced mental capacity was the result of multiple minor strokes since 1949, his symptoms were consistent with the illness. When traveling abroad during World War II, he would travel under the alias "Col. Walden" for security reasons. While a young student at Harrow, he and some friends blew up a wooden shed using homemade gunpowder.

He was portrayed by Ian McNeice in the original production of the play "Never So Good", by Howard Brenton , which premiered at the National Theatre, London, UK in March 2008. Father-in-law of Pamela Harriman during her marriage to Randolph; Vic Oliver and Anthony Beauchamp during their marriages to Sarah; and Christopher Soames during his marriage to Mary. Grandfather of Winston Churchill , Celia Sandys , Arabella Churchill , and Nicholas Soames . Risked his career by trying to find a way for the Duke of Windsor to remain on the throne after marrying the Duchess of Windsor . This strained relations so badly between Churchill and the future King George VI that George originally did not want Churchill to be Prime Minister, and would prefer instead to have E.F.L. Wood . Churchill by that point had a majority of Parliament supporting him, though, and so he became Prime Minister. He earned the King's respect through his leadership during World War II. Is descended from John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, through the female line. Due to this, for many years the family's name was actually Spencer. Churchill was added back to the family name to emphasize their descent from Lord Churchill.

In fact, Winston's full name includes the Spencer family name as well. Through the Spencer side of the family, Churchill is also related to Earl Charles Spencer and Princess Diana . By a decree of 18 June 1958 (anniversary of the famous BBC-broadcasted speech to France in 1940), he was named "Compagnon de la Libération", the prestigious Order initiated by Charles de Gaulle during World War II. Pictured on one of a set of eight British commemorative postage stamps honoring Prime Ministers, issued 14 October 2014. Other prime ministers featured in the set were William Pitt the Younger, Charles Grey, Robert Peel, William Gladstone, Clement Attlee , Harold Wilson , and Margaret Thatcher . Price of the Churchill, Attlee, Wilson, and Thatcher stamps on day of issue was 97p each. As a representative for the UK government, he helped draft the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which created the Irish Free State and ended the Anglo-Irish War. He heavily armed the Irish National Army against the anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army during the Irish Civil War.

Befriended Consuelo Vanderbilt , who became the Duchess of Marlborough upon her marriage to his cousin, Charles. Consuelo's great-grandfather, Cornelius Vanderbilt , was a business partner of Winston's maternal grandfather, Leonard Jerome. On 11 May 1940, the day after he became Prime Minister, Churchill ordered the RAF to begin bombing German cities. The first raid took place that evening at Monchengladbach. Pictured on a set of three postage stamps issued by the Isle of Guernsey 22 January 2015. Stamps were in a single souvenir sheet; each stamp had a denomination of £1. At the end of World War II he tried to publicly disassociate himself from the blitzing of German cities, due to the immense controversy following the destruction of Dresden. Churchill had began bombing German cities on 11 May 1940, four months before Adolf Hitler retaliated by ordering the London Blitz in response. He was a vocal supporter of destroying Germany as an economic and industrial power before and during World War II.

He publicly praised Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin 's invasions of Poland on 17 September 1939 and of the Baltic states on 14 June 1940. After World War II ended it was confirmed that the joint German-Soviet invasion had been secretly agreed in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on 23 August 1939. He repeatedly rejected offers from Adolf Hitler to end World War II, most notably in July 1940 after the fall of France and in May 1941 before the start of the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union. He considered withdrawing all British troops from India in 1942 in response to the "Quit India" movement. During his wartime premiership the UK ceased to be a superpower due to the economic cost of World War II and Lend Lease. The Atlantic Charter promised self-determination to all the colonies of the British Empire. He was a major proponent of aerial bombing in World War I, the North Russia Intervention, the Third Anglo-Afghan War and the 1920 Iraqi Revolt.

As First Lord of the Admiralty he was responsible for imposing naval blockades on Germany from 1914-19 and 1939-45. Both were illegal under international law. His first action as Prime Minister was to overrun neutral Iceland on 10 May 1940, to prevent the country from being used as a launching base for an invasion of the UK. During World War I his decision to use passenger ships like RMS Lusitania to transport munitions for the war effort proved highly controversial. It was speculated that Churchill wanted American passengers to be killed in order to bring the United States into the war. Suffered a mild heart attack in December 1941, and a bout of pneumonia in December 1943. US President Lyndon Johnson did not attend Churchill's funeral, officially due to a heavy cold. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower did attend. As First Lord of the Admiralty he was responsible for the bombing raids on German cities carried out by the Royal Naval Air Service from 22 September 1914, four months before the first Zeppelin raid on the UK.

Despite his later reputation as an opponent of appeasement, Churchill did not begin to regularly speak out against Nazi Germany until May 1938. Churchill was criticized for making almost no reference in his radio broadcasts to Jews being killed by Axis forces in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. He was accused of deliberately starving up to four million people to death in the Bengal Famine of 1943. The famine was likened to a genocide. His Conservative Party received fewer votes than the Labour Party in the 1951 General Election. He was reported to have regretted World War II, particularly the destruction of the British Empire and the Soviet occupation of eastern Europe, remarking, "We have slaughtered the wrong pig". However it is unconfirmed whether he really made this remark. The destruction of Dresden in February 1945 led to calls for Churchill to be tried for war crimes. As Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State for Air, Churchill was responsible for air strikes on civilians in Russia, Iraq and Afghanistan. In 1947 he advocated a decapitating nuclear strike on the Soviet Union to Republican US Sen. Styles Bridges .

An unpublished article from 1937 attributed to Churchill led to accusations of anti-Semitism, although some historians maintain the article was written by others. He was largely responsible for the failure of the Norwegian Campaign in April-May 1940, which brought down Neville Chamberlain . Ironically Churchill replaced Chamberlain as Prime Minister on 10 May. Ordered the destruction of the French navy at Mers-el-Kebir on the coast of French Algiers on 3 July 1940. 1,297 French sailors were killed and 350 wounded. There was due to be a General Election in 1940, but it was suspended due to World War II. It is likely that Churchill would have lost an election at any time during the war. Advocated using poison gas against civilians. Ordered the construction of Finsbury Park Mosque in London in 1940, in recognition of all the Muslim servicemen who were fighting against the Axis Powers. The Viceroy of British India had declared the country was at war with Germany before the Indian parliament could even debate the matter. May have provoked Adolf Hitler into launching the Blitz by deliberately bombing German cities from May 1940.

After the Dunkirk evacuation and the subsequent fall of France there were many people in the UK who wanted to end the war. He helped cover up the Katyn massacre by the Soviets in Poland. In a secret memorandum on 28 March 1945 Churchill admitted Dresden was bombed only in order to terrorize the city's civilian population. The city itself had no military significance. Authorized the use of diphenylaminechloroarsine on villages in northern Russia in August-September 1919. Winston Churchill to his wife, Clementine Winston Churchill to his wife, Clementine Early in January 1935 50 year old Clementine Churchill--for many years the devoted wife of Winston Spencer Churchill, one of England's most prominent politicians--was making the long sea voyage from England to Indonesia. On New Year's Day, 1935, she wrote to her husband from a stop in India, "Oh my Darling, I'm thinking so much of you and how you have enriched my life. I have loved you very much but I wish I had been a more amusing wife to you.

How nice it would be if we were young again." Winston's reply, reprinted here, reflected a devotion that had not dimmed in 27 years of marriage. Their partnership, in fact, survived for another 30 years, weathering all the stresses and strains that came from lives led on the world stage. Churchill first met beautiful 19 year old Clementine Hozier at a ball in London in 1904. He was 30 and already launched into the adventurous life of a soldier, journalist, and politician. Four years passed before their next meeting in March 1908, when the two were irrevocably drawn to each other. As he wrote to her the following month, "What a comfort and pleasure it was to me to meet a girl with so much intellectual quality and such strong reserves of noble sentiment." Clementine found Churchill's charm and charisma irresistible too. Love blossomed, and on August 20, 1908, he proposed to her in the gardens of his birthplace, Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire. They were soon exchanging notes breathless with love.

In one, Churchill wrote: "My dearest, I hope you slept like a stone...The purpose of this letter is also to send you heaps of love and four kisses X X X X." Her reply to this note ended joyfully, "Je t'aime passionement [sic]--feel less shy in French." Another letter from Clementine to Winston written that August ended with the words, "Goodbye my darling. I feel there is no room for anyone but you in my heart--you fill every corner." Just one month after their engagement, Winston and Clementine were married at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster. The ceremony was followed by a honeymoon in Italy. On their return, Churchill plunged into politics as a member of the reforming Liberal government. Their lifetime of corresponding began at this period. Clementine, expecting their first child, stayed at Blenheim while Winston remained in London, near Parliament. In their letters, Clementine referred to herself as "Kat" or "Cat"; Winston was "Pug" or later "Pig", and even the children received pet names. The letters were invariably decorated with a drawing of a cat, pig or a pug dog.

Subjects ranged widely, from the concerns of home to major political events. To Winston, Clementine was a beacon of sanity. He ended a letter that he sent her in April 1909 with the affectionate words, "Thus the world wages--good, bad and indifferent...and only my sweet Pussy cat remains a constant darling..." He worried about her health. After the birth of their first child in July 1909, he urged, "...do try to gather your strength...Remember my two rules--No walk of more than 1/2 a mile; no risk of catching cold...I do so want your life to be a full and sweet one." After the arrival in 1911 of their second child, Randolph (named after his grandfather), she wrote, "My sweet beloved Winston, I am so happy with you my Dear.

You have so transformed my life that I can hardly remember what it felt like three years ago before I knew you." But in a postscript she gently chided, "Please be a good Pug and not destroy the good of your little open air holiday by smoking too many fat cigars." In 1915, during World War I, Churchill went to France to gain experience of trench warfare. Foreboding filled her letter in November of that year: "...for seven years you have filled my whole life and now I feel more than half my life has vanished across the channel...I feel you are receding into the fog and mud of Flanders..." He continued to rely on her support while he was abroad. Taking strength from her, he wrote, "Show complete confidence in our fortunes. Hold your head vy high. You always do." Throughout the vicissitudes of his career, Churchill always believed in his destiny. At the end of 1915, during World War I, he wrote, "My conviction that the greatest of my work is still to come is strong within me..." Clementine supported his belief, and he recognized just how much he needed her.

On their eleventh wedding anniversary in September 1919, he wrote: "...it is a rock of comfort to have your love and companionship at my side." She campaigned for him during the General Election of 1922. From Scotland she explained, "I find what people like best is the settlement of the Irish question. So I trot that out and also your share in giving the Boers self-government...I am exhibiting you as a Cherub Peace Maker with little fluffy wings around your chubby face." During the 1930's, Churchill fell into the political wilderness. He spent much of his time at his family home at Chartwell in Kent, painting, writing, and warning Britain of future danger from Nazi Germany. When war did come, Churchill became prime minister. As he later wrote in his memoirs, "I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and this trial." Throughout the dark years of conflict, Clementine did much in her own right, especially her tireless charity work for Russia.

During her visit to the Soviet Union in 1945, Churchill concluded a letter to her, "My darling one I always think of you...Yr personality reaches the gt masses and touches their hearts. With all my love and constant kisses I remain your devoted husband W" Although plagued by ill health in their old age, their last years together were full and rich, and they continued to correspond whenever they were apart. Winston and Clementine's warm union of mind and spirit lasted until Winston's death, at age 90, in 1965. Clementine survived him by 12 years, and died at the age of 92. Text from Messages of Intimacy and Passion Edited by Ronald Tamplin The woman who said yes to Winston Churchill | UK | News | Daily Express UK The woman who said yes to Winston Churchill WINSTON CHURCHILL first met Clementine Hozier briefly in 1904 when he was in love with Ethel Barrymore but their next meeting at a dinner party on March 15, 1908, was life changing for both of them.

PUBLISHED: 00:01, Fri, Mar 15, 2013 Clementine Hozier was the wife of Sir Winston Churchill He was then 33 and about to enter the Cabinet as President of the Board of Trade. She was 22 and the impoverished granddaughter of the Earl of Airlie. She had a distinct penchant for older men and had already been engaged twice - firstly to a banker 15 years her senior then to a civil servant almost twice her age - and had broken it off both times. No doubt wary of another rejection Winston did not pursue Clemmie with as much ardour as he had his other paramours. In fact, in August 1908 he feared he might have overdone it and she was losing interest. However his narrow escape from death in a house fire brought an anxious telegram from Clemmie. Winston invited her to Blenheim and as they took shelter from the rain in an ornamental Greek temple during an afternoon walk he proposed. She said yes. Her engagement ring - a large ruby with two diamonds - was one of the three Winston’s father had given his mother.

The engagement was announced on August 15 and the wedding set for less than a month later on September 12. First though, Winston had to face Violet Asquith, the woman who was in love with him. She was on holiday with her family in Scotland and he ensured that she was told before the official announcement but still felt that he should speak to her face to face. Sir Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine make their way to No 10 Downing Street I do not love and never will love any woman in the world but you Winston Churchill A furious Clemmie threatened to break off their engagement but Winston insisted. Exactly what he said to Violet is unclear but she was distraught when he left and refused to attend the wedding. Days later she was found on a cliff path, having suffered a nervous breakdown. As for Clemmie, Winston assured her: “I do not love and never will love any woman in the world but you.” And right up to his death in 1965 he never did. Related articles

Question: What was the Christian name of Winston Churchill's wife?
Answer: Clementine